Grounding Herself

Posted on Tue Mar 11th, 2025 @ 3:21pm by Captain Malcom Llwyedd & Lieutenant Commander Rhiana t'Aegis

1,441 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Shore Leave 1
Location: Holodeck, USS Firebird
Timeline: Shortly after crossing the wormhole, on the way back to Earth

[ON]

The USS Firebird had finally left Deep Space 18 and the Gamma Quadrant. The return into Federation space had been considerably less eventful than their initial crossing through the wormhole. For one, Rhiana had been inside the ship and not outside on a dangerous EVA mission.

Now the time had begun that the crew of the Firebird, the survivors and those that had not been left behind to serve aboard the station, were settling back into their lives aboard. New duty schedules were issued and the constant state of emergency they had been living in for almost two months had come to an end. The duty shifts were almost entirely pure routine to give the crew a chance to get used to "normal" ship life again.

It was too soon into their slow journey back to Earth for the crew to become bored just yet and Rhiana decided to take advantage of an empty triple slot of holodeck time. It was at a time she would normally be asleep, but she desperately needed time away from everybody else to feel like herself again and this was the very first possibility to do so.

So, in the middle of gamma shift, she found herself in the empty holodeck.

"Computer, lock door."

The computer chirped in confirmation and Rhiana let out a long breath of relief. Of course, quite a few people would be able to override the lock, but the probability of that happening was extremely low. It was the best she could do under the current circumstances.

She was wearing her usual training outfit: a black wrap-around tunic that left her athletic arms bare, a pair of equally black trousers and soft-soled black shoes that were fastened around her calves with a crisscross pattern of thin leather straps. Standing roughly in the centre of the large space, she took another breath.

"Computer, begin programme t'Aegis-001."

The computer chirped again and the black-and-yellow decor was replaced with a comparatively small dojo-like space. Large banners were hanging on the walls, with the symbol of hfihar s'Aegis embroidered onto them. There where no windows, giving the impression that the room was underground. The lighting came from torches that were set at regular intervals into the wall. A wooden door in one wall led to the souterrain's foyer. This basement level was as expansive, if not more so, than the ground floor upstairs. There were other training areas, changing rooms, storage rooms, cellars, but also the hidden access to the even deeper lying Oath Chamber.

Slowly turning around herself and looking around, Rhiana could not help but smile and exhale slowly.
Home.

She knew that it was impossible to hear from down here, but her mind supplied the noises of the family's mansion. The children playing and learning in the vast garden. The slaves and servants busy with household duties. The adult members of the family going about their daily lives, maybe taking a flitter to the senate for some urgent business or to the market for shopping. She could hear laughter and serious discussions. Someone running up the stairs, only to be reprimanded by Saeihr, the head of the household. She never cared whether it was a child or an adult, a slave or a ranked member of the House. The children loved her and the adults treasured her, for she was an efficient head of household. The only person save from reprimand or admonitions was Tala, head of the House. Rhiana's adopted grandmother. A most dignified woman. Shrewd and intimidated by nothing and no-one.

While she was remembering all of this and with closed eyes, Rhiana began a series of slow movements of stretching her muscles and warming up. She did not need to think about these, as she had been doing similar sequences for years. Then came the first moves of llaekh-ae'rl, a Romulan martial art she had been practicing since she was a child. It was a graceful sport, the movements, when executed properly, fluid and elegant. And, potentially, deadly.

Moving through the room and making use of the entirety of the space, Rhiana was now working up a sweat. Her breathing deepened and her mind focused. The movements were becoming more advanced. More complex. Until she was almost dancing on the slightly springy surface of the mat on the ground.

"Computer, begin programme t'Aegis-001-A."

A chirp and a hologramme appeared before her. It was a male Romulan, a few inches taller than her and clothed in a style similar to hers. He had an intelligent face with a slightly mocking expression and unusual, pale ice blue eyes.

Rhiana never stopped in her movements and the hologramme began to move with her. No, against her. He became her counterpart. For the longest time, it was a sparring, a back and forth of near equal opponents, neither of whom was trying to win. It was not quite a game, but Rhiana was smiling, clearly enjoying herself, and the hologramme smiled back.

This part of the exercise followed a similar pattern than Rhiana's inital warm-up and solitary moves: it began with the more simple exchanges of strikes and blows, straightforward ones that were relatively easy to block or circumvent. Gradually, the movements became more complex. Strategies were being used to feign and duck. Jumps high into the air or perfectly timed rolls on the ground were being added.

It was both, impressive and beautiful to watch the mastery of the art and the pleasure the two Romulans seemed to be drawing from this exchange.

And then, without any real announcement, the tone of the workout changed. They was still the occasional smile, but it was more like a grin or a brief expression of taunting. The blows were harder. The blocks more powerful. While the gracefulness remained, the art underwent the transformation from 'laughing' to 'murder', which may be what had given it its name.

Soon enough, Rhiana and the hologramme appeared to be doing their best to maim or even kill their opponent. Any weakness either of them showed was immediately exploited.

The sounds filling the room changed as well. They became louder. More determined. More aggressive. More dangerous.
Thuds from landing hard on the mat.
Sounds of ribs cracking.
Grunts of pain.
Sharp exhales from kicks to the gut.

At the same time, the speed of the movements increased.
It became a true fight. The smiles were entirely gone, replaced by concentration. Neither of the two was holding back anymore.

And yet, this part of the workout held as much fascination than the previous graceful display of mastery, if not more so. Simply by the fact that neither of the two was giving in and one of them losing seemed to be far in the distance. Even after receiving some blows that were hard enough to bring almost anyone down, the two Romulans continued.

Eventually, though, Rhiana ended up kneeing on her opponent's neck while he was lying face-down on the mat. "Yield?"

Three slaps with his hand on the mat indicated that he did.

Satisfied with that response, Rhiana got off of him and sank to the ground. She was exhausted and panting hard. Her entire body hurt, despite the holodeck securities. Wiping the blood off of her nose with the back of her hand, she considered briefly to not touch the security settings next time. Maybe.

The holographic Romulan was sitting across from her. He had never said a word, but was merely smiling at her with that same expression he had when he first materialised. Unlike her, he obviously was not in pain and while he was breathing, the simulation did not extend to him being exhausted nor out of breath.

After a few moments, Rhiana took a deep breath and looked at the hologramme. Creating him had been a mistake. But she also could not bring herself to destroy him now. Maybe next time.

Eventually, she rose to her feet, still feeling the strain of the workout all over her body. The hologramme came to stand in front of her, still silently smiling.

Rhiana met his eyes one last time before she inclined her head deeply towards him and offered him a quiet, "Hann'yyo, e'lev."

Unable to bear looking at him again, she quickly turned around. "Computer, end programme t'Aegis-001-A." The chirped acknowledgement meant that he was gone and Rhiana was alone again in a place that now only existed in her memory and this simulation.

[OFF]

Lieutenant Commander Rhiana t'Aegis
Second Officer / Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Firebird NCC-88298

 

RSS Feed

Comments (1)